Vidor Marine enjoys the military life

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Introduced to traveling frequently at a young age, Lance Cpl. Dustin Luse learned to love this unique lifestyle. Because of his father’s job, he lived in several states throughout his childhood, to include Ohio, Illinois and Texas.

“My dad worked in drywall,” said Luse, a native of Vidor. “We just traveled around whenever there was a job to be done.”

Luse graduated from Vidor High School, and realized he had fallen in love with the nomadic lifestyle he was raised in. He was not satisfied with his job at a fast food restaurant, so he decided to join the military.

According to his father, John G. Luse, Dustin wanted to be in the military from a very young age.

“I remember watching ‘Heartbreak Ridge’ with him,” John recalled. “He said, ‘Daddy, who are those people?’ and I said, ‘those are the Marines, son. From what I hear, it is the toughest branch of service.’”

When Dustin heard these words, he decided at that point, even as a young child, that his dream was to be a Marine.

“I remember the first time he talked to a recruiter and found out he was 2 pounds overweight,” said John. “I told him I was proud of him for even trying, but that was not good enough for him.”

Since July, Dustin has gone to Bridgeport to support and train with the infantry during cold weather mountain warfare training in Northern California.

“It feels good to do my job and help people,” said Dustin. “Without the supplies that we transport, a unit can’t function efficiently for very long.”

His father says he has always been active and had great work ethic.

“We didn’t have a babysitter when he was young, so I would take him to work with me,” said John. “Dustin would always want to help with anything he could.”

He recently supported Exercise Steel Knight 2014, an annual exercise, by transporting, food, water and fuel to units throughout remote training areas in Twentynine Palms. “Luse had a good time,” said Staff Sgt. Escalante, Luse’s staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge with CLB-5. “Coming out here to the field is a good way for us to get used to operating the vehicles in different types of terrain, and Luse makes the most of it.”

Dustin is slated to deploy sometime later this year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He says he is excited for the adventure that awaits him.

“I have a steady-paying job, a roof over my head and I’m living the way I want,” said Dustin. “What more could anyone want?”

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